The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1887-06-16


did not find following Christ smooth sail-
ing. Oh, how they were all tossed with
the tempestl John Huss in the fire; Hugh
McKail in the hour Of martyrdom; the
Albigenses, the Waldenses, the Scotch
Covenanters-di they find il smooth sail
inRP
But why go 10 history when | can come
into this audience to-day and lind score
Of illustrations of the truth Of this subject.
That young man in the store trying to serve
God, while his employer SCOTS at Christi
anity, the young men in the same store
antaponistic to the Christian religion, teas
ing him, tormenting him about his religion,
irving oil in their power to get him mad,
saying you're a pretty Christian. .
Does this young man find it smooth sailing
when he tries to follow Christi Here is a
Christian girl. Her father despises the
Christian religion; her mother despises the
. Christian religion; her brothers and sisters
scoff at the Christian religion; she can
hardly find quiet place in which to say
her prayers. Did she find it smooth sail
ing when she tried to follew Jesus Christi
Oh, mol All who would live the life Of the
Christian religion must suffer persecution.
If you do not find it in one way you will
get it in another way.
The question was asked: "Who are
!, those nearest the throne2" and the answer
came back: "These are they who came up
out of great tribulation;" great failing, as
the original has it; great failing, great
pounding, "and had their robes washed and
made white in the blood of the lamb" Oh,
do not be disheartenedl Oh, child of Godi
| take courage. You are in glorious COM
panionship. God will see you through all
these trials, and he will deliver you.
My subject also impfesses me with the
fact that good people sometimes get very
much frightened.
In the tones of these disciples as they
rushed into the back part of the boat, find
| they are frightened almost to death. They
| say: "Master, carest thou not that we per-
ish?" They had no reason to be frightened,
! for Christ was in the boat. | suppose il
we had been there we would have been Just
as much affrightened. Perhaps more.
In all ages very good people get very
much affrightened. 1t is often so in our
day, and men say: "Why, look at the bad
lectures; look at the spiritualistic societies;
look at the various errors going over the
church of God; we are going to founder;
the church is going to perish; she is going
| down." Oh, how many good people arc
affrightened by iniquity in our day, and
think the church of Jesus Christ is going
to be overthTown, and are just as much
affrightened as were the disciples of my
text. Don't worry, don't fret, as though
iniquity were going TO triumph over
righteousness.
A lion goes into cavern to sleep. He
lies down, with his shaggy name covering
the paws. Meanwhile the spiders spin
web across the mouth of the cavern, and
say: ave have captured him." Gossamer
thread after gossamer thread is spun until
the whole front of tho cavern is covered
with spiders web, and the spiders say:
"The lion is done; the lion is fast" After
awhile the lion has got through sleeping;
he rouses himself, he shakes his name, he
walks out into The sunlight; he does not
even know the spiders web is spun, and
with his voice he shakes the mountain.
So man come spinning their sophistries
and skepticisms about Jesus Christ; he
seems to be sleeping. They say: "We
come forth again upon the nation Christ
is captured forever. His religion will
never make any conquest among men.
But after while the Lion of the tribe of
Judah will rouse himself and come forth
to shake nightly the nations. What's
spiders web to the aroused lion? Give
truth and error a fair grapple, and truth
will come off victor.
But there are great many good people
who get affrightened in other respects;
they are afrightened in our day about re-
vivals. They say: "0hl this is strong
religious gale; we are afraid the church of
God is going to be upset, and there are
going to be great many people brought
into the church that are going to be of no
use to it," and they are affrightened when
evee they see revival taking hold of the
churches.
AS though a ship captain with 5000
bushels of wheat for cargo would say,
some day, comm upon deck: "Throw
overheard all cargo;" and the sailors would
say; "Why, captain, what do you mean?
Throw over all the CARGO" "Oh," says
the captain, 1--WE have peck of chaff that
has got into this 5000 bushels of wheat;
and the only way to get rid of the chaff is
to throw all the wheat overheard" Now,
that is great deal wiser than the talk of a
great many Christians who want to throw
overheard all the thousands and tens of
thousands of souls who are the subjects of
revivals. Throw all overheard because
they are brought into the kingdom of God
through great revivals; because there is
peck of chat, quart of chaff, pint of
chaff! l say let them stay until the last
day. The Lord will divide the chaff from
the wheat. Do not be afraid of great re-
vival.
Oh, that these gales from Heaven might
sweep through all our churchesl Oh, for
such days as Richard Baxter saw in En-
gland and Robert McCheyne saw in Dun
dee! Oh, for such days as Jonathan Ed
wards saw in Northampton have often
heard my father tell Of the fact that in the
early part of this century revival broke
out at Somerville, N. j., and some people
were very much agitated about it. They
said: sob, you are going to bring too
many people into the church at once;" and
they sent down TO new Brunswick to get
John Livington to stop the revival.
Well, there was no better soul in all the
world than John Livingston. He went and
looked at the revival; they wanted him to
stop it. He e.stood in the pulpit on the
Sabbath and looked over the solemn audi
tory and he said: "This, brethren, is in
reality the work of God; beware how you
try to stop it" And he was an old man,
leaning heavily on his staff-a a very old
man. And he lifted that staff, and took
hold of the small end of the staff and be-
gan to let it fall very slowly through be-
tween the finger and the thumb, and he
said: "Oh, though impenitent, thou art
falling now falling away from life, fall
ing away from peace and Heaven, falling
as certainly as that cane is falling through
my hand--falling certainly, though per-
haps falling slowly" And the cane kept
ON falling through John Livingston's hand.
The religious emotion in the audience was
overpowering, and men saw type of their
doom as the cane kept falling and falling
until the knob of the cane struck Mr.. Liv-
ingston's hand, and he clasped it stoutlY
and said, "But the grace Of God can stop